Unforseen Side Efects
by somehowunbroken
Summary: The mission to M94-028 has some unforeseen side effects. Evan/David, mpreg. Fluffiness.
1. Unforeseen Side Effects

"We need to talk."

Evan blinked as David shuffled into his office and slumped in the seat across from his desk. "What can I do for you, Dr. Parrish?"

David scowled at him and reached back with one long arm to slam the door closed. "Evan."

Oh, Personal, then. "David?"

David's scowl deepened. "There's… um." A slight hesitation, then, "I'm – hm."

Evan's chest tightened. David had no problem talking; he was usually the one pulling words out of Evan, asking him about his day and the missions and his family and this and that. David filled silences almost as compulsively as Dr. McKay did. If he couldn't get the words out, then it was sure to be something bad, something Evan wasn't going to want to hear. Something like…

"It's fine," Evan said dully, staring at a spot just over David's shoulder. "I mean, we work together, but I'm sure we're both professional enough to not let it get in the way or endanger anyone offworld."

David stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a light laugh. "I'm not breaking up with you."

"Oh." Evan's shoulders relaxed. "Thank God."

"Although it's good to know you'd put on a brave face if I ever did," David continued, smile on his face.

Evan rolled his eyes. "Then what did you want to tell me?"

David's hesitation was back in a flash, nerves and worry replacing humor and his good-natured smile. "Okay, I'm going to try for some backstory here, so when I tell you there's a basis for it, okay?"

David was such a scientist. "Okay," Evan replied slowly, settling back in his chair.

"So last month, when we were on M94-028, you remember how we all got sprayed with that purple slimy stuff during the ritual?"

Evan nodded. Slimy was a good description. The stuff had been nearly waterproof, too, once they'd gotten around to trying to clean it off. After they'd-

"It was an aphrodisiac," he recalled, smirking when David blushed lightly. "Janes and Volsky ran off and bunked with some locals for the night. We stayed back to guard the tent." The smirk grew as David's blush did. Not much tent-guarding had gone on, unless you counted the inside.

"Yeah, you remember," David muttered, cheeks pink. "Anyway, I brought a sample back for Dr. Beckett to test." Evan nodded; that was procedure, for Carson to test anything the offworld teams had come into contact with, in case it turned out to be poisonous or something. Evan's eyes widened. Had those people poisoned David?

"Are you sick?" he asked, leaning forward in concern. "Did Carson find something in that goo?"

David pointedly wasn't looking at him. "He found something, all right," he said. "But I'm not sick, exactly."

Evan sat back in his chair. David hadn't stopped by to tell him that everything was fine, and even if he had, it would have been much easier for him to say. "What, then?"

David took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Evan blinked. "Beg pardon?"

"That's pretty much what I said," David replied, shrugging. "Dr. Beckett's report said that there was a chemical in the spray-goo that would 'ensure conception in any union made while under its influence.'" He sounded like he was quoting from the report, Evan realized, and wondered how many times David had read it. "He said he'd go to the planet and test anyone we'd been with that night, see if it was true." He shrugged. "I had him test me."

"And you're pregnant," Evan repeated, feeling a little slow on the uptake but figuring he had the right to be. His boyfriend was pregnant. "You know that's not possible, right?"

David shrugged. "The doctor said that the goo stuff made some… changes," he said, looking Evan in the face. "You probably don't want to know the details."

Evan shuddered. No, he certainly didn't.

"Anyway," David continued, "apparently everything's perfectly healthy, as far as he can tell."

Evan's office was completely silent for a few minutes. "Evan?" David ventured.

Evan held up a finger and tapped on his radio. "Colonel Sheppard?"

"Major," he heard.

"What's your location, sir?"

There was a sharp rap at the door about ten seconds later. Evan's eyes crossed the hallway to the open door – had Sheppard actually been in his _office_? – and he stepped back, letting Sheppard enter. "Doc," he said, nodding at David, who nodded back. He turned to Evan. "Something wrong?"

Evan pinched the bridge of his nose and closed the door behind him, gesturing Sheppard to the other seat in the room. "Something you need to know about," he allowed, sitting down himself and shooting a glance at David, who looked perfectly serene. Sheppard waited, tipping the chair back on two legs, watching Evan with one eyebrow raised.

"M94-028," he said finally. "Don't send teams there anymore."

The second eyebrow joined the first. "Any reason?"

Evan looked helplessly at David, who cleared his throat. Sheppard turned to him, and he shrugged. "I'm pregnant."

Sheppard's chair tipped back way too far, and if Evan's office hadn't been so small that he hit the wall he'd have sprawled out on the floor. "Excuse me?"

"I'm pregnant," David repeated helpfully. "They sprayed us with stuff, I had sex, the stuff had some unforeseen side effects, and I'm going to have a kid."

Evan would have been laughing out loud at the look on Sheppard's face if the words weren't still settling with him. "Unforeseen side effects," Sheppard repeated faintly.

Evan nodded. "Don't send teams back there," he again, and Sheppard nodded, dumbstruck. "Sir, would you mind if I took the afternoon off?"

Sheppard nodded again, and Evan briefly wondered what he might be able to get the man to agree to before the shock wore off. Evan stood and walked to the door, clapping David on the shoulder as he passed, and David rose to follow him out of the room.

When Evan glanced back to his office as they rounded the corner, Sheppard was still sitting with the chair tilted against the wall.

They went to David's quarters; Evan could just have been escorting a friend home, and anyway, the scientists were much less likely to report anything that may or may not have happened in David's room than the duty-bound Marines were about Evan's. Evan went inside and sat on the bed. David sat next to him and took his hand, and Evan squeezed it gratefully.

"Are you upset?" David ventured.

"No," Evan said immediately. He loved kids, adored his nephews, but he'd given up the idea of having any of his own a long time ago. "It's just – that's literally the last thing I ever expected you to say."

David's mouth turned up at the corners. "It's pretty much the last thing I ever expected to have to say," he agreed. He sighed, and Evan looked up to see the smile slide from his face. "What now?"

"I might get sent back to Earth," Evan said, tracing David's palm with his thumb. "When I tell Sheppard, y'know, he's gonna have to report me, and…"

David laughed and tugged Evan against his side. "Sheppard won't care."

"He has to."

"He's not going to report you." David sounded amused. "He'd have to report himself, too, and I just don't see that happening."

Evan blinked. "He's sleeping with Teyla."

"He's sleeping with Mitchell," David corrected mildly. Evan's mouth dropped open, and David shrugged. "McKay doesn't always censor himself."

Evan snapped his jaw shut, mind working wildly. "I won't have to go back to Earth," he breathed. "I can stay." He looked at David. "If you want to stay, I mean. If you want to go back to Earth, I'll get myself transferred."

David laughed and shoved at his arm. "Of course I want to stay," he said. "Can you imagine _not_ raising our kid here?"

Evan blinked. No, he decided, he really couldn't. A slow smile spread across his face as he thought the sentence through again. _Our kid._

"Then we're going to need bigger quarters, among other things," Evan said, looking around and starting a mental list. "I'll get the forms in order tomorrow."

"You can do it now," David offered. "I'm okay. You don't have to sit with me all afternoon."

Evan smiled and turned to take David's face in his hands. "I wasn't planning on sitting around."


	2. A Perfect Family

Evan felt the adrenaline rush through him and took a deep, calming breath. His fists clenched on the legs of his pants as he stared straight ahead, readying himself for whatever as coming next. He could handle this. He'd been through some seriously crazy shit in the Pegasus galaxy. He could totally handle this.

"Evan?"

David was looking at him, curiosity turning to concern, and Evan pasted a smile on his face that David could probably see straight through. "Hey."

David cautiously smiled back. "Are you okay?"

Evan blew out a breath. Decidedly not. "Yeah."

"You're lying," David responded matter-of-factly, and yeah, he was. "Please stop freaking out. You're making me freak out, and that's not good."

Evan smiled a little more broadly, reaching forward and taking David's hand in his own "I'm trying," he admitted, brushing his thumb over David's palm.

David rolled his eyes. "This isn't going to help you freak out less, y'know."

"Probably not," Evan agreed. "I'd still like to be here."

David's smile softened. "I know," he said, turning his hand to hold Evan's.

"Ready?"

"Sure," Evan offered. He could do this.

Which was good, because Carson walked in about fifteen seconds later, gloves snapping into place. "Good afternoon, Major, Doctor," he said brightly, stepping to the side of David's bed. "We're going to take a look at the wee one, okay?"

"Sounds good," Evan said, smiling at David again. "Light it up, Doc."

Carson flicked a few switches on the machine next to him, talking as he worked. "I'm not sure how familiar you gentlemen are with this process," he began, picking up a wand with a suction cup-looking thing on the end. "I'm going to spread some gel on your back, Doctor, and then I'll use this instrument to get a picture inside."

Evan frowned. "Isn't it supposed to go on his stomach?"

Carson beamed at him. "In a normal pregnancy, yes," he responded. "However, in this case, Dr. Parrish is carrying the child in a small-" He cut off as Evan's face twisted. He didn't know the details of how, exactly, David had ended up pregnant, and he honestly didn't want to hear the specifics of how everything was working inside. Carson modified his answer. "We'll get a better view this way."

"Okay," Evan said, shrugging. David nodded and rolled onto his side, facing the small screen attached to the monitor. Carson flicked at some more switches, spread some gel on David's back, and moved the wand over the area. A picture popped up o the screen, and Evan held his breath, waiting for Carson to locate the baby.

David gasped and reached out a hand to touch the screen. "Wow," he said and Evan squinted a little, turned his head sideways, and – oh, shit that _was_ the baby, wasn't it? He could sort of see it now, could resolve squiggles and spots into hands and feet and a rough torso shape. Sure, there were some wiggly bits that he couldn't quite make out, but that was definitely a baby.

Evan reached for David's hand and held it tightly, his eyes never leaving the screen. "Wow," he echoed.

"Hmm," Carson said from beside Evan, and Evan whipped his head around to ask what was wrong, because Carson saying _hmm_ during a medical test was never a good sign.

"Doc?" Evan choked out. "Is something – what's wrong?"

"I'm not sure anything's wrong, per se," Carson responded hesitantly. "Let me see if I can get a clearer – ah, here we go."

Evan turned back to the screen. Carson had moved the wand, and the picture was different now. Evan frowned; it still looked like a baby, still looked fine, and Evan found himself counting its fingers and toes as best he could, coming up with the right number. He opened his mouth to say something when the picture jumped again, and suddenly another hand appeared, another foot, and Evan was gaping at the screen.

"Please tell me that's more than one kid," he said to Carson. "Please tell me that my kid's gonna have a twin, not that he's going to have an extra arm and leg." Anything was possible in the Pegasus Galaxy.

Carson chuckled. "Two, yes," he confirmed. "I had wondered," he admitted more quietly, almost as if talking to himself. "With the way the serum was formulated…"

David, who hadn't yet said a word to this revelation, suddenly spoke up. "Twins?" He sounded slightly awed, slightly scared. Evan gripped his hand more tightly.

"Aye," Carson said kindly, patting David on the leg. "Congratulations, lads."

-0-

"As near as we can figure, it's a side effect of the serum that is responsible for Dr. Parish's condition," Carson explained later, once David was dressed in his own clothing again and they'd had a chance to talk about it. (Talking about it had really been the two of them sitting in stunned silence, one of them occasionally saying "Twins?" in a voice that made it clear that, yeah, this was just getting weirder by the day.)

"This whole thing is a side effect of that drug," Sheppard pointed out. (David had been right. Sheppard had been surprisingly cool about the whole thing, though he hadn't mentioned Mitchell. That was fine by Evan. He didn't need that particular image confirmed for him.)

"Yes, well, that too," Carson breezed on. "Its purpose is to ensure conception; we already figured that out. It seems likely that when both parties are male, two children are conceived, for two main reasons. One, there are technically two fathers, which might lead to two babies. Secondly, I imagine that the risk to any fetus carried by a man would be more vulnerable. The male body was never meant to protect a child, so the risk of losing it would be much higher. With two fetuses, the chance for one to actually survive is much greater."

Eva swallowed shallowly. "They're not both going to make it?" he asked, and his voice sounded strangled to his own ears. He'd just found out that one baby was actually two, and even though he was still adjusting to that (well, to the whole situation, really) he was already ridiculously in love with both kids.

"I think they'll both be fine," Carson hurried to assure him. "We have a lot of resources available here that don't exist out in the rest of the galaxy. We'll keep a careful eye on everyone involved, Major."

Evan let out a sigh of relief. "So, does this mean that one kid is biologically mine, and the other is biologically David's?"

"It's difficult to tell at this point," Carson said. "I would assume not, but of course, I can't be certain without more testing." He focused on David. "I can take samples if you'd like," he offered. "The tests wouldn't take that long, and there would be minimal risk of damage to the little ones."

David tugged on Evan's hand. "It doesn't matter," he said firmly. "These are our kids either way." He glanced at Evan, biting his lip. "It doesn't matter, does it?" he asked more quietly, and Evan just shook his head. David was right.

"There's another matter," Carson said, shuffling his papers around. Everyone turned to look at him, and Sheppard drawled, "There better not be another kid in there you're not telling us about, Carson."

"Mercy, no," Carson replied, grinning. "It appears that the wee ones' rate of growth is accelerated."

"Accelerated how?" Evan glanced at David's stomach and thought back to his sister's pregnancy. It had been three months since David had gotten pregnant. How much had Stacie been showing at three months?

Carson shook his head. "I'm not sure, to be honest," he admitted, and okay, that wasn't comforting. "Dr. Parrish is technically in his third month, but the babes are bigger than they should be at this stage, more developed. I'd say they're as developed as if they were about five months."

"So are we going to have mammoth kids on our hands, or are we moving that due date up?" Sheppard asked after a minute's silence.

"The latter, I believe," Carson said with a faint grin. "If the rate of growth stays constant, we're looking at another two months, perhaps ten weeks. I'd like to suggest that Dr. Parrish come in every few days for a checkup, so we can keep an eye on things."

David nodded. "We can set up a schedule," he offered. "I'm not going offworld any more, so I've got a lot of free time on my hands."

-0-

Evan was busily trying to put a crib together while thinking about how, exactly, he was going to present this to his family when the door to his new, expanded quarters opened and Sheppard walked in.

"Need a hand?" he drawled as Evan cursed and dropped one of the bars again. It rolled away and went somewhere under the bed, and Evan jerked his head toward it. Sheppard leaned down and patted around awkwardly, coming over to hold the bar in place as Evan screwed the railing on top.

"Thanks," Evan said, setting the newly completed side panel against the side of the bed. "Did you need me for something?"

"Nope," Sheppard said, leaning back against the bed.

"Oh," was all Evan could think to say.

They sat in awkward silence for a little while, until Evan shrugged and went back to attempting to put the crib together. David was in the infirmary. Carson was checking in with him every other day; it had been every three days, at first, but David now looked like he was about seven months, so Carson was seeing him more often. Sheppard silently handed Evan pieces and held things in place as he worked, and the crib came together neatly, much more quickly for the help. Evan stood back and surveyed it.

"Not bad," Sheppard finally spoke up. "Listen, Lorne, I've been thinking about how to phrase all this to the SGC."

Evan turned, surprised, "You haven't told them yet?"

Sheppard winced. "Um, not exactly."

Evan waited, and Sheppard breathed out before continuing. "Look, I'm not turning you in," he said finally. "I know what it's – I've been-"

"David said as much," Evan cut him off. Sheppard looked relieved.

"Well, yeah, he would know. Apparently McKay has a big mouth." He grimaced and Evan grinned; this wasn't news to him. "But I have to tell them something, and 'aliens made them do it' would explain the pregnant part, but not the living together thing."

Evan bristled. "I'm not moving out."

"Nope," Sheppard agreed. "I'm just not gonna tell them that part."

Evan blinked in surprise. "That's… you don't have to lie for me, sir."

Sheppard rolled his eyes. "Of course I don't. And it's not lying, it's… carefully edited truth." He shot Evan a grin, which Evan returned. "So don't mention it around the SGC, okay?"

Evan nodded. "Thanks, sir."

"Don't mention it," Sheppard grinned back at him. "Let's get that other crib together, huh?"

-0-

Five months and eight days after the visit to M94-028, David woke up with a groan in the middle of the night. Evan was awake in an instant.

"What is it?" he asked, keeping his voice low and calm. Carson had told them that it would be any day now.

"Infirmary," David said, screwing his face up. "I'm pretty sure that was a contraction."

Evan tapped on his radio as he helped David from the bed. "Dr. Beckett," he called over the private channel. "You'll be needed in the infirmary in about three minutes."

"Already there, Major," Carson replied briskly. "The wee ones are on their way, then?"

"Looks like it," Evan said as he helped David pull up his stretchy pants. He was thankful that he'd taken to sleeping in clothing, because it saved them a little extra time.

David's face was a constant contortion as they walked to the transporter and were whisked into the infirmary. As soon as they entered, nurses were easing David onto a gurney and changing him out of his clothing and into a dressing gown. Carson came in a moment later, and Evan stepped back as the doctor passed.

"Everything looks fine," he assured them a moment later. "The little ones are in good health, and they're quite developed enough to be born at this point."

Evan let out a sigh of relief that was quickly cut of by David's groan. "Doc?" Evan asked anxiously, reaching out to take David's hand-

-and David was squeezing, holy shit, and he was _strong_. Evan gritted his teeth and sat through it, until David was blinking up at him and letting go.

"Sorry," he said weakly, and laid back against the pillows. Evan smiled and smoothed his hair with one hand, flexing the other where David couldn't see it. Stacie had broken Matt's hand with their first kid, and she was nowhere near as strong as David, who was about to deliver two at once.

It was over quickly, more quickly than Evan thought it would be; he thought of his mother's stories about how long she'd been in labor with him, of waiting in the hospital for almost a day before Stacie had finally had Connor, but they were in the infirmary for just over three hours when Evan heard a high-pitched shriek from the other end of the bed. David laid back against the pillow and looked at Evan. "Check," he said, letting go of his battered hand. "Fingers, toes, check."

Carson was already handing him a cloth-covered blob, and Evan took it from him almost mechanically. Then the blob moved, and the blanket fell away, and Evan was looking down into his child's face.

"Oh," he breathed out. "David. Wow."

"Boy or girl?" David asked, and Evan lifted the blanket away from the baby before tucking it back in securely.

"Girl," he said softly. "She has your nose."

"Poor thing," David grinned, then gasped. "Okay, little girl, sibling's coming."

Evan reluctantly handed his daughter off to a nurse, who took her to the other side of the room for weighing and measuring. He focused his attention back of David, who was sweating and swearing and wow, he hadn't known that David even knew those words. Three good pushes later and Evan was being handed another tiny bundle.

"Boy," he reported, smiling at David. "A boy and a girl."

"Perfect family," David said softly, laying back into the pillow and smiling up at Evan. He held his arms out, and Evan laid the baby there, stepping back and looking around. He spotted his daughter across the room – his _daughter_ – and walked across, standing hesitantly beside the nurse.

"Can I?" he asked, motioning to the newborn. The nurse smiled and swaddled her back up, handing her over with smooth, sure movements.

The nurses were busily cleaning David up and weighing the little boy when Evan returned. He waited as David was transferred to a new bed before he sat down on its edge, staring into the baby's face.

"You lied." David's voice came from Evan's left. He was sitting forward, looking at their daughter. "She does not have my nose."

Evan smiled. "Sure she does," he replied. "It's just proportional. She's tiny, so's her nose. Give it time." David just laughed.

At the sound, the little girl opened her eyes, and Evan stared into orbs the color of his own. She blinked a few times and shut them again, snuggling into the crook of Evan's arm, and Evan found himself blinking a few times, too.

A nurse returned with their son, and David gratefully accepted the small bundle. They spent time pointing out features on both children, Evan's jawline and David's cheekbones and soft, downy hair so dark that it hadn't come from either of them – "Most babies have it," Carson had assured them, "it'll fall out soon" – and agreed that the children were, somehow, biologically both of theirs. Evan shrugged it off; if David could get pregnant in the first place, why wouldn't the kids have DNA from both of them?

"I need to fill out these birth certificates," Carson said from somewhere off to the side, and David and Evan both looked up, focusing on something other than their tiny, perfect family for the first time in hours. "Do you have names chosen, or shall I leave it blank for now?"

Evan looked at the baby sleeping in his arms. "Angela Marie," he said softly.

"Robert Samuel," David said from his side. They'd discussed names, of course, but hadn't settled; since they hadn't known what gender the babies would be, they'd really only batted suggestions around. They'd both hoped for a girl; Angela was Evan's mother's name, and Marie was David's, and it seemed appropriate to name a daughter after two strong women. Robert had been Evan's grandfather, who had taught him what it meant to balance his artistic side with a military mind; Samuel was an uncle of David's who had given him his first summer job – tending the garden when he was eight.

"Lovely," Carson said, and Evan could hear the smile in his voice. "What are you listing as their surname?"

They'd talked about this, too, but hadn't come to a conclusion; Evan wanted to hyphenate their names, but David had just rolled his eyes every time he brought it up and said that they should have Evan's name. He was, he'd joked, the mother in this relationship, and children should bear their father's name. Right now, though, Evan would agree to anything David wanted.

"David?" he asked softly, and David smiled over at him. "It's up to you."

David settled Robert carefully into one arm and reached the other hand up to rest on Evan's forearm, just below Angela's head. "Lorne," he said to Carson, his eyes on Evan's. "Angela and Robert Lorne."

Evan smiled back, leaning to settle next to David on the small bed as he heard Carson walk out. They gazed in wonder at their children, staring the wide-eyed, open look of new parents, until Carson poked his heard in again. "Plenty of aunties and uncles out here waiting to meet the wee ones," he said, smile evident in his voice. "Are you ready for the hordes?"

"Can you send them in a few at a time?" Evan asked. "I don't think all of Atlantis will fit in all at once. It'd get pretty uncomfortable."

Carson chuckled and backed out.

David grabbed Evan's forearm again as Carson let, leaning in as they heard the doctor talking outside the door, probably organizing some sort of rotation of visitors. "I'd change my name, too, you know," he said softly, and Evan could only stare at him, stunned, as the smile crept its way across his face. It was all he could think about as visitor after visitor entered, cooed over the newborns, and left.

Evan and David, Angela and Robert. Lornes, all of them. A family.

It was perfect.


	3. Christmastide

Evan wasn't even thinking about it until David brought it up.

"I know it seems kind of silly and pretty impractical, but it's going to be their first Christmas in a little over a month." David was folding a scrap of clothing so tiny that Evan wasn't even sure what it was; it could have been one of Robbie's shirts or one of Angel's skirts. He really had no idea.

"Christmas," Evan repeated. How could he have forgotten about Christmas?

"Yeah," David continued, oblivious to Evan's thoughts. "It seems a little silly, because they won't remember it – I mean, they'll be three months old – but I'd like to celebrate, you know." He hesitated. "As a family."

Evan smiled at him easily. He knew that David still felt like this was, somehow, not permanent, like Evan was going to wake up one day and realize that his partner wasn't a woman and that he had two children he'd never asked for. Evan didn't know how to reassure him, to let him know that it wasn't going to happen, that he might not have expected this but he was definitely happy where he was.

"Sounds good," he said instead of articulating those thoughts. "I can probably wrangle Sheppard into okaying a small tree for us in here, if you want." There was a space near the windows that would frame the tree out nicely, he thought as he surveyed the space. They'd have to move the kitchen table into the sitting area, but it would only be for a week, maybe two. It was doable.

David's face broke into a relieved smile. "I'd like that." He continued to fold the laundry in the basket, sorting it into four piles as he went. It was technically unnecessary; the twins' clothing was mostly interchangeable, since they were still so small, but David seemed to like separating the tiny garments and giving each child exactly the same number of one-piece sleepers and tiny white socks. "I'm going to use some of my personal allotment on the next Daedalus run for some gifts." He hesitated again as he fished the last of the clothing from the basket. "I've already talked to Colonel Sheppard, and he's going to take care of signing off on my forms and submitting them. Please don't peek."

Oh. Presents for him, then. Evan nodded, brain scrambling, because he was an idiot for not thinking of this before. What was he going to get for David?

Just then, though, Angel started to whimper in her crib, and Robbie soon echoed her sentiments, and the parents were busy fixing bottles and feeding their children. By the time nappies were sorted out and the babies were sleeping again, the topic of conversation had shifted, and Evan had almost forgotten about it completely.

-0-

He remembered it the next day, though, when he got to the office and found a stack of personal items requisition forms on his desk from various members of the expedition, military and civilian alike. Most were for what he suspected were holiday gifts, and most were even allowed on base this year (unlike last year, when he'd turned down a record 268 requests, mostly from Marines who thought that explosives were a great gag gift). He set the few he'd have to deal with aside and signed through the rest of them absently, wondering what he should put on his own form, what he'd get sent through.

Finally, distractions dealt with, Evan stared down at his own requisition form. He'd put a few things on it for the twins – baby toys, mostly, or things that he'd heard would make your kid smarter or happier or things like that – and wondered what to get for David. He was still wondering almost an hour later when Sergeant Briggs knocked on his door, handing him another pile of the forms.

"Sorry, sir," he apologized as he handed them over. "I know they were due in by 1700 yesterday, but I was still trying to decide what to get for my wife." Briggs was married to one of the social scientists, a pretty blonde linguist named Leslie that David knew. "It took hours, especially since she was around for most of the time that I was trying to work it out." Briggs rolled his eyes and smiled, affection clear in the gesture.

"It's fine, Sergeant," Evan said, accepting the forms. "I'm still not done with mine, and I only ever get McKay's as I'm getting ready to beam them all up to the Daedalus anyway."

Briggs grinned and jerked his head towards the paper that Evan had only half-filled out. "Baby things?" he asked, voice understanding. He and Leslie didn't have any kids of their own, but the couple had watched the twins a few times; apparently they both came from big families. They'd actually been quite helpful right after the twins were born, helping Evan and David adjust to life as parents.

"Yeah," Evan admitted. "Mostly. I'm ordering copies of some of those videos you told me about, and that series of books Leslie keeps mentioning."

"Good choices," Briggs approved. "Just so you know, Major, you can probably expect gifts from some of the expedition members. They'll all want the chance to ooh and aah over the kids' first holiday celebration."

Evan blinked. Yet another thing he hadn't thought of. "That's really not necessary," he began, but Briggs shook his head.

"You just signed off on most of their forms, sir," he pointed out, and Evan looked at the stack of completed forms with renewed interest. His scans though the requested items were for things like cherry bombs or bottle rockets, not for items that were, for the most part, innocuous. It was entirely possible that he'd signed off on gifts for his own children without even realizing it. "And honestly, sir, I don't think you'd be able to stop it if you wanted to. People are pretty devious when it comes to making kids happy."

This Evan had noticed. Gifts had been popping up in his quarters since a month before the twins were born. They'd included everything from nappies to clothing to toys, some of Earth design and some from Pegasus. He and David hadn't had to purchase much on their own so far. Teyla had smiled when Evan related this to her and confided that the same had happened when Torren was small. "It was as if everyone in Atlantis felt that he was, in some way, theirs," she had offered. "They all cherished him." It was the same with Robbie and Angel.

"Anyway, sir," Briggs was continuing, and Evan snapped out of his thoughts. "I'll leave you to it."

Evan sighed as Briggs left, looking down at the forms in front of him again, alternating between the ones Briggs had just brought and his own. An idea began to form, and he tapped his radio. "Colonel Sheppard, Teyla, what are your locations?"

-0-

The tree was set up right where Evan had imagined it, sitting in the kitchen area. Evan had managed to get some lights smuggled onto the Daedalus, along with a few small boxes of kid-proof ornaments; the twins were nowhere big enough to be causing any damage to the tree, but they'd grow, and Evan figured it was better to just order the safe ones now. He and David had had a good time decorating the tree and drinking hot chocolate; for once, the seasons on New Lantea and Earth had aligned, and it would be cold in Atlantis for Christmas. There might even be snow.

Now, a small pile of gifts sat beneath the tree. Evan had purposely kept his gifts for David out of the pile, and after a not-so-casual inspection of the pile, found that David had done the same with his. It was a week before Christmas, and Evan was spending the evening with David and their children for once, having arranged it so he could take the evening off.

The twins were getting bigger; there was no doubt about that. They'd been born small, which Carson had assured them was perfectly normal for twins, but they'd put on weight since they were born, now weighing in at around eleven pounds each. They were also beginning to show their individual personalities; Robbie was usually the first to spook, the first to cry, while Angel seemed more sedate with the world around her. Both lit up when they heard Evan come home at the end of his shift, smiling and giggling their little baby laughs. Evan suspected that they did the same for David and wished he could be around to see it.

He was ridiculously, deliriously happy.

Predictably, Robbie startled awake when the door chimes went off, while Angel simply looked around the room. Evan stood and padded over to the door in his socks, Robbie in one arm, hoping that it wasn't Sheppard telling him that there was some emergency, that he'd have to leave his family and go back to work. He almost groaned out lout when it was, indeed, Sheppard on the other side of the door.

"Don't look so happy to see me, Major,' Sheppard said dryly, leaning against the door. "I might get a complex."

Evan managed a weak smile. "Let me put Robbie to bed, sir," he said, resigned. "And grab some shoes."

"Relax, Lorne," Sheppard said, giving Evan a half-smile. "Everything's fine. The City'll run without you for tonight, Scout's honor."

"Sir?" It wasn't like Evan thought the City needed him every hour of every day – there were other capable people here who could take care of Atlantis – but some days it felt like he was always on duty.

Robbie made a discontented sound from Evan's arms, and Sheppard glanced down, a small, private smile softening his face as he reached out to touch the baby on the arm. "Hey there, little guy," he said, in what was probably his talking-to-babies voice. It sounded goofy. Evan shifted back and Sheppard pulled his hand back like he'd been stung, but Evan was smiling when Sheppard looked up at him.

"Come in," he offered, and Sheppard entered, the door closing behind them.

David was standing in the kitchen, warming milk for the twins' bedtime bottles. Angel was in her bassinet nearby, and Evan led Sheppard into the sitting area, gesturing to the couch. Sheppard sat in the easy chair instead, and Evan settled on the couch, just to Sheppard's right. Robbie was squirming now, and Evan discreetly checked his nappy before looking back at Sheppard, who was staring at Robbie with that quiet little smile on his face again.

"Want to hold him?" Evan offered, and Sheppard's grin brightened for a second before he fought to control it.

"Sure," Sheppard said, arms opening and tucking the tiny child against his chest with more ease than Evan thought he'd have. "Hey, Robbie."

Robbie looked up at Sheppard, gave him a slobbery baby smile, and proceeded to blow a snot bubble on Sheppard's shirt. Evan jumped up, horrified, but Sheppard just shot him a grin and grabbed a baby rag off the back of the couch to dab at the spot.

"I like kids," he offered as an explanation, which didn't really explain anything, but Evan supposed that was Sheppard's nature. "Since I started – well – I've spent a lot more time around them lately." He shifted Robbie so he was sitting in his arms. "Not too likely that I'll have any of my own, y'know, so I have to spoil my honorary nieces and nephews." He grinned at Evan, who was trying very, very hard not to be shell-shocked.

"With all due respect on that topic, sir, I pretty much thought the same thing until about nine months ago," he pointed out instead of letting his jaw drop.

"True," Sheppard agreed, looking at Robbie, then at Angel as David walked back into the room, expertly balancing the baby in one arm and two bottles in the other. "As I understand it, though, both parties actually have to be present for it to work, so I think I'm safe from that."

"That's what you think," David said cheerily, handing one of the bottles to Sheppard, who adjusted Robbie again and started feeding him. "Then, bam, you're pregnant with twins."

Sheppard just smiled at Robbie, who blinked back up at him around the bottle. "I guess life just catches you off-guard some days, huh?"

Evan snorted. "We live in the Pegasus Galaxy. The days I'm not caught off-guard catch me off-guard."

"Point," Sheppard agreed, looking up at Evan ad David with a grin. "On that note, I did stop by for a reason."

"Did you now?" Evan asked dryly. "Good to know you weren't just here to put my kids to bed for me."

"Had to make sure you were up for the responsibility," Sheppard shot back. There was a grain of truth in it, though, and Evan remembered back to the first couple of weeks after they'd been released from the infirmary, when Sheppard or Teyla or Ronon had come by every evening, supposedly _not_ to check up on them. Evan had been grateful for it nonetheless. It had been reassuring to know that there would be people watching their backs on this, just like they would on any mission.

"You were saying?" Evan continued.

Sheppard managed a move that left no doubt in Evan's mind that he'd served in Special Ops, holding the baby and the bottle steady while fishing in his jacket for an envelope, which he tossed to Evan. Robbie didn't even have to break his rhythm. "Merry Christmas."

Evan looked at the envelope. It was plain white, no writing, and contained a single sheet of paper, folded into thirds. Evan opened it and scanned its contents quickly. It was an email, addressed to Sheppard, and Evan read the few lines four times before slowly moving the paper to his lap and looking almost uncomprehendingly at Sheppard, who was grinning like an idiot.

"Evan?" David prompted, and he lifted the letter again and held it up for David to read.

_From: ._

_To: ._

_Subject: Your weekly status report from the Milky Way_

_I'm hoping that none of this is a surprise to you by this point, but I figured I should let you know that I think you're absolutely amazing, incredibly hot, and I'm stupid in love with you._

_Also, they officially repealed DADT as of yesterday, so stop hyperventilating. Neither of us is about to lose our job._

_There's other news but none of it's important. Come Earthside after the New Year. I'll tell you then._

_Cam_

"Oh," David replied, astonished. "That means – oh."

Sheppard was still grinning like a loon, and Evan glanced from him to the paper to David, a smile blossoming on his own face. "That means that it's no longer illegal to do this," he informed David, leaning in to kiss him chastely over him feeding Angel. "Among other things," he added softly, for David's ears only, sitting back in his seat.

"The official announcement will go out tomorrow," Sheppard said. "I figured you guys would want to know tonight, though."

"Yeah," Evan replied, eyes bright and happy. "Thank you, sir."

Sheppard grinned and stood, handing Robbie back over. "Don't thank me yet," he advised, tossing the baby rag onto Evan's shoulder and setting the bottle down. "I did the fun part. You get to burp him and change the nappies."

Evan laughed. He could handle that.

-0-

Christmas was an absolute blur. Evan was on duty early in the morning, for once, and David had managed to swing his schedule so they'd be off the same hours in the afternoon (Evan suspected that Sheppard had forced McKay's hand, and was grateful); they'd left the twins with Leslie Briggs, who was more than happy to watch them while both parents were off at work. Evan made sure that her husband would have the afternoon and evening off as well, and walked with the man back to his quarters to gather up his kids at shift change.

"Major," Sergeant Briggs called up as Evan was leaving, baby bag slung over one shoulder and a child in each arm. He was glad he lived nearby. The twins would coon be too big for this, and Evan was dreading it for two reasons; one, he'd have to buy a stroller to walk his kids around the City, and two, they'd be a little bit bigger, a little bit less dependant on him, and he didn't want to lose that, not yet. For now, though, he waited in Briggs' doorway as the man approached him with a small box wrapped in blue paper. "Merry Christmas."

"Oh," Evan said, surprised that he was surprised. Briggs had been the one to tell him that people would probably get presents for the twins. "Thanks, Briggs, Leslie. Um," he paused, trying to adjust his load. "Can I swing by for it later?"

Briggs laughed and reached out, taking Robbie from him and holding the package in the other hand. "I'll walk you back."

Evan was surprised again when they reached his quarters; there was a veritable mountain of gifts by the door, wrapped in shiny reds and golds and greens (and one in the funny pages from the newspaper, he was amused to see). "Oh," Evan repeated. "I… really wasn't expecting that."

Briggs laughed again and stepped over the pile, walking in to set Robbie in his bassinet. "Get your girl settled," he called. "I'll start on these."

By the time David arrived fifteen minutes later, Evan and Briggs had managed to get all of the gifts inside. David stopped short as he entered the sitting room. "Oh."

"That's what I said,' Evan replied, stepping back to inspect the pile. It was as massive as he'd thought. "Thanks, Briggs. Can I get you anything?"

Briggs just shook his head and walked towards the door. "Merry Christmas, sir," he said, walking out and shutting the door behind him.

"They were stacked outside," Evan explained as David put his work things away and changed out of his uniform. "Briggs helped me haul them all inside."

"We're going to be opening boxes all day," David observed. "And none of them are even for us."

Evan grinned. "Sounds like fun to me."

They divided the pile, each making a careful list of who had brought them which gift, so thank-you notes could be sent later. The gifts ranged from the mundane (nappies and jumpers from the Infirmary staff) to the useful (clothing in various sizes and styles, for when the twins grew more) to the amusing (McKay had recorded lectures about algebra, which began with a monologue about how Teyla had told him not to give them quantum physics because it hadn't done anything for Torren, so he'd gone with something easier). By the time they were done, the list included nearly every name on Atlantis.

"Wow." David sounded a little choked up, and as Evan glanced over, he saw his partner's eyes shining. "This is amazing."

Evan slid an arm around David's shoulders. "Teyla pointed out that the expedition claims kids as communal property," he reminded David. "We're lucky."

David choked out something between a sniffle and a laugh. "We have the best extended family ever."

"We do," Evan agreed. "We really do."

David sniffled again and smiled brightly. "Hey, time for our gifts," he said, standing to retrieve the things they'd set under their tree. Evan picked Robbie up and settled him in his lap; David did the same with Angel to Evan's left. They opened each other's gifts for their kids. Evan watched as David unwrapped the videos and books that Evan had ordered, and saw David smile as he opened plush toys and brightly colored crib sheets. The kids were entranced by the bright wrapping paper, the crinkling sound it made, and Evan and David spent almost half an hour playing with the paper, watching as the babies' faces beamed with glee and happy sounds fell from their mouths.

David stood after a while, leaving and coming back with a large box. It wasn't wrapped, and Evan blinked at it while David shrugged. "Merry Christmas," he said, smiling gently.

"How did you manage to get all this on the Daedalus?" he asked, torn between incredulous and impressed. "Caldwell's pretty strict about obeying the weight limit."

David shrugged. "Traded for some other people's space," he admitted. "Also, some of it's from closer to home." He smiled. "Go on, open it."

The box was filled to the brim with art supplies that made Evan gasp. There was a roll of heavy canvas, wood for mounting it, sketchbooks, oils, watercolors, charcoals, acrylics, pastels, brushes. There were jars with substances Evan couldn't identify, and David carefully explained what each contained; many were pigments and dyes from worlds that Atlantis traded with, and one set, in jars with silver lids, were paints that David had made himself from plants he'd come across in their years in the City. Evan was astonished by the variety and the thoughtfulness of the gift, and his fingers trailed across the canvas, his mind already planning what he'd paint, what he'd create.

Evan pushed the box away after a time, mind reeling with possibilities. "Thank you," he breathed, leaning over to kiss David. "Thank you so much."

"I'm glad you like it," David replied, uncharacteristically shy. "It took some thinking."

"I'll say," Evan agreed, standing. He went to his dresser and pulled out two much smaller boxes, returning and handing the larger one to David first. The brilliant grin on his face as he opened the small digital camera was almost blinding.

"I know how much you love recording your plants in the field," Evan explained. "Figured you'd want to do the same for the kids."

David opened the box and pulled the camera out, searching for the battery charger. Evan grinned and reached to the table, pulling the already-charged battery from its cord, attached to his laptop.

David smiled. "Ah, you know me so well," he teased, turning the camera on and snapping a picture of Evan. Evan let him play for a few minutes, taking pictures of the kids and the tree and their quarters, before clearing his throat.

David set the camera to the side expectantly, looking at the other box that Evan was now turning over and over in his hands. It was almost perfectly square, and Evan hesitated before he started talking.

"You said – when Robbie and Angel were born," he began softly, recalling the scene. "You said they should have my name."

"I still think that," David said softly.

"I know." Evan swallowed. "You told me you'd change your name, too. You don't have to," he hurried to add, and David's eyes widened to a point of near-comedy. "But we're a family, and I thought…" He trailed off as David closed his eyes, panic setting in. He snapped his jaw shut and sat very, very still while David breathed in and out.

"Evan," he asked very quietly, "are you asking me to marry you?"

"Um," Evan replied. "Yes?"

"And you were planning on it even before Colonel Sheppard gave us the news last week?" David's eyes were still closed.

"Yeah," Evan confessed. "I talked to Sheppard about it a month ago, and asked Teyla if she'd officiate. I had it all planned out."

"God," David said, opening his eyes. "Of course, Evan. Of course." He was smiling and Evan saw how bright his eyes were, shining with happiness and tears, as he leaned in to kiss him.

"And I'll change my name," David added with a laugh as he pulled back. "Or hyphenate it."

"It's up to you," Evan promised as he had all those months ago, chest tightening as he glanced down to where their children were laying. Robbie was slobbering on some wrapping paper while Angel chewed thoughtfully on a new stuffed octopus, and as Evan looked back to David's face, he realized that he'd never been happier in his life.


	4. Homecoming

Cam was very, very happy.

It wasn't a surprise, not to anyone who knew him; he was a generally cheerful person anyway, and since the open Gate was about to deliver the one person in any galaxy that he wanted to see most, the grin on his face was absolutely infectious.

Three people wandered through the Gate and Cam scanned their faces, quickly dismissing them, and turned his attention back to the wormhole. Sure enough, a few seconds later John came strolling through, duffel slung nonchalantly over his shoulder. Cam made a beeline for him, and before the Gate even had a chance to shut down, grabbed him by the shirt, hauled him forward, and kissed him long and deep.

"Hi," John managed a minute later, smile firmly in place, and Cam laughed at him.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to do that?" he asked.

"Eleven years, four months, nine days," John replied immediately.

That was a little more precise than the answer Cam was going to give, but that was John for you. "About that long, yeah." He leaned in and pecked John on the lips again, grinning widely as John rolled his eyes.

"Claim staked," John said dryly. "Can we go home before you embarrass these poor airmen any further?"

Sure enough, Marques and Phillipson were decidedly pink around the ears, looking anywhere but at the two men on the Gate ramp. Cam slung an arm around John's shoulders and pulled him from the Gate room, walking towards the elevator.

"So what's the news?" John asked twenty minutes later, doing at least seventy in a thirty-five.

"When we get home," Cam promised. John was liable to wreck the car.

Luckily for both men, home was about ten minutes closer when John was driving, and they pulled in soon after. They were barely in the door before John was on him, kissing him without reservation. Cam went with it, fast and furious, not minding at all when they ended up in bed instead of talking, because he might have things to tell John, but how could he resist (or, more importantly, why would he want to)?

"So," John mumbled into his shoulder later. "You had something to tell me?"

Cam grinned. "We're taking a trip this weekend."

John groaned. "Just tell me we're not going fishing."

"You wound me," Cam said dramatically. "Fishing's practically a religion where I'm from, you know that?"

"I know that. I've been there," John reminded him. "Momma just about threw me out when I told her I'd never been."

"We fixed that," Cam said with satisfaction.

"To my utter detriment," John added with distaste. "So where are we going?"

"I promise we won't go fishing," Cam said.

John was quicker than a lot of people gave him credit for. "Auburn."

"Auburn," Cam confirmed. "You know Momma knew, even though I never really told her. When she heard the news about DADT, she oh-so-subtly invited us up for what she calls a 'proper greeting into the family.'"

"I'm going to die," John said matter-of-factly. "Your family is going to kill me."

"With love," Cam said cheerily, kissing the top of John's head, utterly, ridiculously giddy.

-0-

"Cameron!"

Cam scanned the line at the end of the concourse, looking for his mother's tall, thin frame. "Momma!"

He swung her up and around, laughing as she swatted at his arm. "Oh, it's good to see you," she said, hugging him tightly. She turned to John when Cam released her, and Cam had a split second to see the panic register in John's expression before she hugged him just as fiercely.

"Come on, then, boys," she said, walking slightly ahead of them towards the exit. "Your father's circling the lot, Cam; he didn't want to pay for a spot. Cole's already at the house with Lena and the twins."

John made a choked noise at the word _twins_ but gave no other reaction. Cam glanced over his shoulder, and John shook his head. Later, then.

The ride back to his parents' place took about half an hour; it was pleasant enough, with Momma speaking the whole time, telling him about Jennie Larsen's newest kid and the way the women at church were gearing up to hold a bake sale to raise funds for the new children's church room. He nodded and smiled along from the backseat, knowing that she was trying to fit five months' worth of news into thirty minutes and loving every second of it.

John, on the other hand, was slouched against the seat next to Cam, putting off an air of interest. Cam could feel the tension, though, and slid his hand over to rest just above John's knee.

"Relax," he said, letting his mother's voice cover what he was saying. "This is going to be fun."

"You are a very strange man, Mitchell," John replied, clearly not believing him. "Just – no fishing."

"No fishing," Cam promised again, grinning.

Laurie and Lindsey were on the porch when the car pulled up, and Cam was out the door almost before his Daddy had parked the car. He whooped as he picked the girls up and swung them through the air, one in each arm, and smiled broadly as they shrieked with glee.

"Don't make them sick before super, Cam," came an amused voice from the doorway, and Cam set the girls back down before embracing his sister-in-law just as tightly, if less in-the-air. Cam very much doubted that Lena, at eight months pregnant, would appreciate that.

"Uncle Cam!" Laurie was tugging on his pants, and Cam swept her up again. She settled against his hip comfortably, latching on to his shirt. "Who's that?"

She pointed her little finger at John, who was unloading their bags from the trunk of the car. Cam grinned, watching as John argued with his parents about carrying the bags, trying to pick all of them up at once. He might have succeeded if Cam's own bag wasn't so laden down with gifts for his family members. He walked over, still carrying Laurie, and slid his other arm around John's waist, pulling him close. "This is your Uncle John, sweet pea," he informed her, holding on to both of them.

John gave her a tentative smile. "Hi."

"Hi," Laurie said brightly, leaning from Cam into John and wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. "I'm Laurie. I'm three. Are you Uncle Cam's?"

Cam grinned as John dropped his duffel to support his newfound niece. "I guess I am," he replied with a glance at Cam, who leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

Cam leaned down and picked up his own bag; Momma had swooped in and plucked John's from the ground almost as soon as he'd let go of it. John followed them to the porch, carrying Laurie.

Lindsey was standing on the edge of the porch, clinging to the banister. Cam heard Laurie talking to John as they approached. "That's Lindsey. We're twins. I'm two hours older than she is, but she's a little taller than I am. Put me down," she finished, and Cam turned to see John carefully leaning over and setting Laurie on the ground. She tugged John forward and grabbed Lindsey with her other hand. "Lindsey, this is Uncle John. He's Uncle Cam's."

Cam grinned and left John to get reacquainted with the girls. He'd met them before, of course, the last time Cam had brought him home; the girls had only been eleven months then, though, so they didn't remember him. And besides, he was now officially a part of the family and thus deserved reintroduction. Cam was also getting no small amount of pleasure at the look on John's face every time Laurie introduced him as "Uncle Cam's."

Cam carried the bags up to his old room, which was now fitted with a double bed instead of the twin he'd grown up with. It would be a tight squeeze to fit them both on, but Cam appreciated the effort. His parents were wonderful people, open and accepting, and they'd known the instant that Cam had brought his friend John home what was really going on; they also knew not to bring it up. Of course, as soon as Momma had gotten wind of DADT being repealed, she'd called him right up and asked when he'd be bringing John by.

Cam smiled as he rejoined the scene in the living room. Cam was currently trying to negotiate giving Lena a hug while still holding on to Laurie, who had jumped back into his arms at some point. It was the most domestic Cam had ever seen him, and he was pleased to note that the tension appeared to have left John's frame. There was an easy smile on his face as he chatted with Lena.

"I figured," Cam heard from his left. His brother Cole was standing there, arms crossed, observing the same scene that Cam was. "Last time you brought him home, I knew, but now it's been confirmed." He grinned at Cam. "Laurie just informed me that that's her new Uncle John, and that he's Uncle Cam's."

Cam blushed to the tips of his ears as his brother smiled at him. "She came up with it all on her own," he half-protested.

"Good for you, Cam," was all Cole said, slapping him on the back. "About time you got to be happy."

"Just glad you took care of the grandchildren," Cam answered cheerily. "That's one thing I'm probably not much use for."

John lifted his head up from across the room and met Cam's gaze directly. He had that funny look on his face again, the same one he'd had when he heard the twins would be here, and Cam resolved to get that particular story out of him sooner rather than later.

"C'mon, sweet pea," Cam said as he walked to John, reaching for Laurie. "Go play with your sister and let the grown-ups talk, okay?"

Laurie pouted at him but let go of John. She turned in Cam's arms to face John. "You promise to finish the story later?" she begged, and John flashed her a smile. "Okay!"

"Do I want to know?" Cam asked, amused, as Laurie dragged Lindsey from the room.

"Carefully edited mission reports,' John shrugged. "Mostly ones where Rodney's pissing off the natives."

"So every report, right?" Cam drawled. "C'mon, let me show you where we're staying."

Cam shut the door to his room behind them and sat on the bed. "So why do you keep freaking out when twins and babies are mentioned?"

John grimaced and shook his head. "You haven't been keeping up on our mission and personnel reports, have you?"

"Not so much," Cam admitted. The Milky Way had problems of its own, and they'd been particularly sticky for Cam recently.

"Lorne has kids," John said bluntly. "Twins."

"Really?" Cam broke into a broad grin. "Good for him! Didn't know he was involved with someone. What's her name?"

John didn't even blink. "David Parrish."

Cam just stared at him, but John didn't crack a smile, didn't bat an eyelash. He was totally serious about it.

"Um," was all Cam could think to say.

"Pegasus," John said by way of explanation. "The days that don't end up going to hell in an handbasket are the weird ones."

"So, what, they touched some sort of Ancient device and beamed themselves some kids?"

John grimaced again. "Nope. There was an alien ritual involving some sort of aphrodisiac goo, and we only found out afterwards that it somehow makes sure that kids are conceived."

"So Lorne's boyfriend was pregnant, carried to term, and delivered twins." Cam processed the thought, decided that no, he didn't want to know how that worked, and shut the train of thought down firmly.

"Essentially," John confirmed. "Shorter gestation, though. He was only pregnant for five and a half months before they popped out. Quick labor, too."

"Wow," was all Cam could say. "I bet that was a fun day."

John shuddered. "You mean when I found out, when I lied to the IOA about it, or when the kids were born?" He ticked them off on his fingers. "Because I think they all qualify."

Cam grinned. "Point taken," he agreed. "So Lorne's a dad."

"A good one, too," John said, his voice a little distant. "Kids are cute as hell. Robert Samuel – they call him Robbie – and Angela Marie. Angel. They have his last name. He and David are getting married soon."

"How old are they?" Cam asked, trying to wrap his head around Lorne having kids.

"Four months," John answered. Cam whistled. "I have pictures."

They spent the next ten minutes or so going through the pictures John had tucked in his wallet, with no small amount of teasing from Cam, until they'd seen them all and John put them back. He was right, Cam thought as John pocketed his wallet. They were cute kids, and Lorne looked pleased as punch with life in general, if a little ragged around the edges.

"Is that something you wanted?" John asked, a little awkwardly, not looking at Cam.

"Kids?" Cam asked, surprised. John nodded, fingers twitching. "To be honest, John, I haven't thought about it in a long time. It's something I'd pretty much given up on even before I met you, and then, well, it wasn't exactly an option." He frowned. "Or so I thought."

"Pegasus," John said again. "Where 'anything is possible' goes to the extreme."

"John," Cam said. "Look at me." John raised his face and looked at Cam, who was surprised to see the deep red blush on John's face. "Is this something you want?"

"I don't know," John said after a long moment. "Maybe." It was as close to a yes as he'd ever say, and Cam had been with the man long enough to know that.

"It's not hat I don't want kids," Cam replied thoughtfully. "It's just that, well, we're not exactly equipped to go that route."

"And now the option's available," John finished for him. "I'm not asking you for a decision today, Cam. I just – it's something to think about."

"I'll do that," Cam promised, squeezing John's hand. "In the meantime, though, I think Laurie's going to want her new favorite uncle back." He mock-glared at John. "I've been ousted from favorite-uncle status by my own partner. It's not exactly fair."

John grinned back at him. "Not my fault that she likes me better," he teased. "Maybe it's because I tell her stories about a crazy lunatic who yells at kings and makes fun of you."

Cam smiled back and stood, pulling John up with him. "If McKay stories make her happy, I fear for the future of mankind," he said, walking back towards the door. He paused just before opening it, turning back to John. "I'm glad you came home with me."

John smiled at him, a different, gentler smile than he was used to seeing. "Couldn't disappoint our family, now, could I?" he said, leaning in to brush a kiss to Cam's lips. It was only as they were walking down the hallway, Laurie already running at full speed towards them, that Cam realized what John had said. _Our family._


	5. Family Saying

"I have to say," Evan said as he stared at the fifteen-foot-tall tree in the botany lab. It had a strange yellow bark and bright yellow-and-blue spotted leaves, and twenty-four hours ago, it had been thirteen inches tall. It was now hitting the ceiling, and if it continued to grow, would probably break through the ceiling and shoot into the geology department. "I pretty much didn't expect this to be the emergency when you called."

David frowned at the tree. "Well, I'm just afraid it's going to do some structural damage to the City," he said. "It's growing remarkably fast."

"You don't say," Evan said dryly, but he tapped on his radio. A short conversation later, two of the combat engineers were headed down to Botany, and soon after that, the tree was carefully being hoisted and carted out.

"Where are they taking it?" David asked as he and Evan followed the combat engineers and their bright cargo down the hallway.

"I told them to put it in that atrium we found out on the East Pier," Evan replied. "Is that okay?"

David pictured the space in his head and nodded. It was big and open, with plenty of room for the tree to continue to grow. It would be a problem if the tree continued its current growth pattern, but that was a bridge that could be crossed when they came to it.

"Good," Evan said. He shook his head. "That's a big tree. How much Miracle-Gro did you feed it, anyway?"

"Just a lot of tender loving care," David replied cheerily. "You reap what you sow."

Evan rolled his eyes. "Honestly, David, who says that?"

-0-

Eight-year-old David Parrish stood at the gate, watching his Uncle Samuel as he knelt between the rows of plants. His hands were brown from the dirt, and he worked slowly but surely, pulling weeds from between the vegetables.

"Morning, David," Uncle Samuel called, wiping a hand over his eyes. A streak of the dirt from his hands mixed with the sweat there, leaving a muddy trail behind.

"Morning, Uncle Samuel," David replied, walking a few steps into the garden. He glanced down at the bright yellow flowers on the vines he was standing by. The words on the label didn't really help him identify what it was.

"What's a _Cucurbita pepo_?" he asked, trying his best to sound out the unfamiliar words.

"Zucchini," Uncle Samuel replied. "That's its Latin name."

"Zucchini has two names?" David wondered.

"All plants do," Uncle Samuel told him. "For that one, _zucchini_ is its common name, while _Cucurbita pepo_ is its scientific name."

David frowned. "Why?"

Uncle Samuel smiled and sat back on his knees. "The scientific name tells you some very specific information," he explained. "You know I grow squash here, right?"

David nodded. Uncle Samuel's squash was served at Thanksgiving, cooked up with butter and brown sugar and so sweet it was almost dessert.

"Did you know that zucchini's a squash, too?" Uncle Samuel pointed to the first of the Latin words. "That word there tells you that this is a squash, and the second one tells you what kind."

David frowned. "So we can't just call it a zucchini?" he asked, looking down and wondering when the bright flowers were going to turn into the sweet, soft vegetable that Aunt Kathleen would make into bread.

Uncle Samuel laughed. "Why don't you learn both names?" he suggested. "That way, you'll know which word to use when you're talking to someone in the supermarket, and you'll know which word to use when we're in the garden."

"Okay," David agreed. He squinted down at the label by the tomato cages – _Solanum lycopersicum_ – and continued to the peppers – _Capsicum annuum_.

He returned there, day after day, watching as blossoms turned into vegetables, as flowers became food. He worked alongside Uncle Samuel, learning how to use trowels and claws, hoes and garden rakes. He carefully tended the tiny plants, following Uncle Samuel's directions and helping seedlings grow tall and strong. Through it all, he came to know those scientific names quite well, and found that he really enjoyed sharing this secret language about plants with his uncle.

At the end of the summer, David stood by Uncle Samuel's side and leaned on his rake, looking across the garden together. "We had a good crop of _Pisum sativum_ this year," David said, gesturing to the pea plants.

Uncle Samuel grinned down at him. "That we did," he acknowledged. "The _Solanum lycopersicum_ could've gone better, though." He sighed. "Ah well. You reap what you sow."

"What does that mean?" David frowned. He knew reaping, and he knew sowing, but they'd sown and reaped the tomatoes, hadn't they?

"It's a saying," Uncle Samuel explained. "I suppose it means that you only get out of something what you put into it. We had to pay so much attention to the other plants that we didn't give those what they needed. Since we didn't give them the best care we could, they didn't produce to the best of their abilities."

"You reap what you sow," David said thoughtfully, gazing out across the garden again.

-0-

"Honestly, David, who says that?"

David smiled. "It's a family saying," he replied, a little distantly. "Hey, when are we going Earthside again?"

Evan shifted. "Well, you can go," he offered. "I don't get leave until the middle of March or so. I figured we could take the kids back home, introduce them to the family."

"I'd like that," David replied. "Your family's in San Francisco, right?"

"Yeah," Evan responded. "My mom's still there, and Stacie and Matt live nearby. They have two kids."

"Connor and Ryan," David recalled. Evan nodded. "I'm sure they'd like to meet their cousins."

Evan smiled. "We have to think of something to tell them about how those cousins came into being," he reminded David. "Alien ritual is the truth, but they're not going to buy that, even if we were allowed to tell them."

"We'll think of something," David promised. "How long will you be able to take?"

"Sheppard owes me at least a month," Evan said, rolling his eyes. "I wasn't going to take it all at once, but I can."

"Maybe not all of it," David grinned. "But if we're Earthside with the kids, I'd like to take them back to Northlake." He paused." You too, of course. Have you ever been to South Carolina?"

Evan shook his head. "I'd like to go, though. I'd really like to meet your family," he said. "See the house you grew up in."

David smiled quietly and reached out for Evan's hand, squeezing it briefly. "I can show you my first garden."


End file.
